Dionysus was the god of wine. He was also the god of ecstasy and enraptured love, pain and suffering, and death and rebirth. He traveled widely, teaching grape cultivation and winemaking. Madness and violence followed him. Women worshipped him. The women drank wine, danced wildly, then tore an animal to pieces and ate the raw flesh. The Romans knew him as Bacchus.

Emotional Control System

The quest for meaning may be hardwired into our brains.

Life Purpose

A Dionysus man's life purpose is a quest for meaning. He lives by ideals and principles that he has yet to discover.

They enjoy resting or doing nothing-especially if alcoholic beverages are available. When faced with a decision they let their partner decide, saying, "I'll be happy with whatever makes you happy."

A Dionysus man has a close relationship with his mother-a "mama's boy." He's her "divine child," with a sense of specialness or destiny. In adult life, a Dionysus man may resent people not recognizing his specialness, e.g., when they expect him to do mundane work. He may have mood swings between low self-esteem and ego inflation. He may have substance abuse issues.

"Wounding" is central to Dionysus. "Wounding" can be a life-threatening illness, e.g., cancer, which makes a man feel as if he has been dismembered and then reassembled as a new person.[2] Or "wounding" can be a painful experience that forces an individual to break from "the flat ennui of numbing conformity to cultural and familial expectations."[3] E.g., Vietnam veterans say that their experiences hurt them deeply and forced them to question their government and the previous generation's values, but the hard lessons were worth learning.

Dionysus men can become cult leaders. They attract followers, especially women. But the followers go mad. The followers may commit crimes opposite to the ideals espoused by their leader. E.g., no evidence indicated that Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh was involved in his followers' poisoning of 751 residents of The Dalles, Oregon (see "Women's Power," page 40).

Under Stress

Under stress, Dionysus individuals become Poseidon. They become wildly, out-of-control emotional.

When Safe

Under safety, Dionysus becomes Zeus. E.g., when Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh became rich he wanted to be respectable. He wanted Rolls-Royce automobiles. Unable to control himself, he bought 93 Rolls-Royces.

Other Personality Type Systems

Dionysus is represented in astrology by Sagittarius (the quest for meaning), and the 9th House (of Long Journeys Over Water, and higher education). Dionysus is Enneagram personality type #9, the Peacemaker.

Sex

Women surround Dionysus men. A Dionysus man has many female friends, and many of these are lovers. His emotional wounds attract their nurturing instinct. His sensuality and appreciation of their beauty, and his ecstatic lovemaking becomes addictive to women. Dionysus is

...the more feminized male ideal, who started rearing his long-haired head in the late 1960s and early '70s. Though they carried themselves with all-male swagger, frontmen Roger Daltrey of The Who and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin were clearly in touch with their feminine sides. Women couldn't get enough of these emotional yet masculine men....1980s hair bands such as Mötley Crüe and Poison [showed that] some women liked men all dolled up in makeup and hairspray wearing pants that left absolutely nothing to the imagination.[4]

"Nipomo, Calif. Mar. 1936. Migrant agricultural worker's family. Seven hungry children. Mother aged 32. Destitute in a pea pickers camp, because of the failure of the early pea crop. These people had just sold their tent in order to buy food. Most of the 2,500 people in this camp were destitute." Photo by Dorothea Lange, Farm Security Administration.[5]

Demeter was the goddess of the harvest and of motherhood. The Romans knew Demeter as Ceres (the root of our word cereal).

Emotional Control System

Demeter energy is nurturing.

Life Purpose

A Demeter woman lives for her children, or to help other people. Demeter women love their children regardless of whether a child is rebellious, disabled, gay, or the governor of Texas.

Shadow

Demeter women give to get love. They'll sacrifice their own needs, then expect something back. They give unsolicited help, then feel used or cheated when the recipient doesn't express gratitude or return a favor. The problem isn't ungrateful recipients. The problem is that the Demeter woman doesn't recognize that people don't need her help.

Too much Demeter energy makes an individual obsessed with diet, stress-reduction classes, or fitness. Too little Demeter energy leads to working long hours without eating, relaxing, or taking a vacation. A woman who works too much may overcompensate by obsession with diet and fitness.

Under Stress

Under stress, Demeter women become Artemis, Ares, and Hephaestus. After Hades abducted Demeter's daughter, Demeter wandered over the earth, day and night, without eating or drinking.[6] This is the seeking behavior emotional control system, symbolized by Artemis.

Everywhere Demeter wandered, she broke plows, destroyed farms and cattle, made fields barren, and blighted seeds so they couldn't grow.[7] She used her anger emotional control system, symbolized by Ares.

Finally, Demeter disguised herself as an old woman. She met the daughters of the king of Eleusis (near Athens). She offered to do any domestic work in their household.[8] Willingness to work is symbolized by Hephaestus.

When Safe

When safe, Demeter women become Apollo. They enjoy a symphony or art museum.

Other Personality Type Systems

Demeter is represented in astrology by Cancer (empathy and nurturing). Demeter is Enneagram personality type #2, the Nurturer.

Sex

Demeter women are warm and affectionate, but are more into hugs than sex. Use condoms because she may not be using birth control. If she gets pregnant, she'll keep the child.

Meeting

To meet Demeter women, play with children. Borrow a baby and go to a beach. Go to a park and play with women's dogs.

A Dionysus-Demeter marriage tempers wounding and nurturing. A couple that successfully uses this energy heals their psychological and spiritual traumas.

Dionysus

Dionysus's marriage to Ariadne was the only healthy marriage on Mt. Olympus.[9] (Anyone who wants "a marriage made in heaven" hasn't read Greek mythology.)

But the wife of a Dionysus man can also find her life alternating between ecstasy and suffering, between "pandemonium and deathly silence."[10]

Demeter

Demeter women marry for children. The husband-or sperm donor -is only a means to her end.

Zeus men are happy to provide sperm, but their relationship goes downhill-fast-after the transfer.

A Dionysus-Demeter marriage echoes a mother and her only son. His central issue was "wounding" and suffering. Her central ability was nurturing. A Dionysus-Demeter marriage may look like a mother/son relationship, but they'll give what the other needs.